»S 3501 
.N22 H4 
1921 
Copy 1 



.iEART's Ease 

By FLORENCE BELLE ANDERSON 




Copyright 1921 
By The Harmonial Publishers 
4328 Alabama Street 
San Diego, California 



^^arfa Sas^ 




BY 
FLORENCE BELLE ANDERSON 



cx/TTx l^-J uui>CKf€>^ LOo<U^., 



^^ 






W-a C^Bcar J\,rtbcrson, 61I10 lyas tniexth 
tlje ijarbor of Perpetual ^eace, tI|CBe &erses 
are lo^m^ly bchtcatch hu one &l]om i|e ten- 
berig calleh Ijis "^i|ipmate 3lack*" 



©ClAe31.153 



iISHEN day is done, God sends the shades of 
night; 

I softly fold my hands upon nrjy breast, 

And then it seems one instant till the morn- 
ing light 

Breaks in the East. So doth my body rest. 

When life is done and I have said "Good 

night," 
I shall not know that time has passed awray; 
God keeps that hour betw^een the dark and 

light, 
I close my eyes, and wake in heaven's day. 



Idow'fi i>^aH0n0 



^ PLUCKED a rosebud for my love's adorn- 
ing* 

Fragrant and sweet, and fresh with pearly 
dew^. 

Dear bud, so lovely in the early morning. 

Surely no flower could be as sweet as you. 

I plucked a blossom in the scented twilight. 
Full blown, the promise of the bud redeemed. 
It, too, was fair; in morningtime or moonlight 
Love has no seasons, each was best it seemed. 

Love, you are sweet when youth is full of 

gladness, 
When life is beckoning through her open door; 
But when in autumn life is tinged with sadness — 
Then love, we need you, then we need you 

more. 



(Utinfxhmtt 



jjn ATHER, I used to pray for happiness; 

Sorrow and pain I thought were punish- 
ment, 
But now I see, and each dark day I bless — 
They were the growth-times that nsy Master 
sent. 

I've seen the oak bend with the mighty gale 
As if its strength the elements would dare. 
Fiercely the w^ind would tear, and madly 

wail — 
But leave the oak tree stronger standing 

there. 

This now^ I ask: Send w^hat is best for me. 
I shall no longer pray the coward's prayer; 
If I need pain, or grief, or poverty. 
Send it, O, Lord, and with it strength to bear. 



four Qllf0to 



([IHINK evil, and as sure as God has wrought, 

Evil alone comes back to you again. 
Malice and envy sent on wings of thought 
Are to the sender boomerangs of pain. 

Sow seeds of love, your harvest will be sweet- 
ness, 

Sow seeds of hate, the law works just as well. 

You shape your life from start to its com- 
pleteness; 

You are the maker of your heaven or hell. 

You have the choice to make your hell or 

heaven, 
God leaves you free; He does not interfere. 
But there are laws He has in justice given; 
He watches you, but leaves your pathway 

clear. 



atif^ Qllimg (Boh Mnht 



A BREATH of life in an atom, 

A mystery enshrouding the place 
Where the Almighty God from His breath 

and the sod 
Made a form full of beauty and grace; 

A mind and a soul and a body 

He gave to this form called a man; 

But somehow the sin of the devil crept in 

This product of God's greatest plan. 

A love and a prayer and a yearning 

For something unseen and unheard; 

A surging unrest for the worst and the best — 

And something still deeper unstirred; 

A world and a hell and a heaven, 
And death as the gulf which divides; 
To some has the Buddha been given, 
To others the Christ crucified; 

A saddening weakness for sinning. 
An infinite longing for good, 
A song in the air and a cry of despair 
Meet and mingle together. Oh, God! 



A love that is stronger than either 

The sin or the sorrow or death; 

One hope that ascends and another that ends, 

And another hope born with each breath; 

Great God! What a thing is created! 

This mixture of devil and God; 

This thing of the earth, by your breath given 

birth; 
This magnified, glorified clod! 

I speculate, analyze, ponder; 
The world and its wonders I scan; 
But nature and God, and spirit and clod 
Merge into this being called — Man. 



10 



JUe are two travelers on a narrow way; 

You're from the East, and I am from the 
West, 
And we have met, and you salute and say: 
"Friend, travel on with me, my way is best." 

What matters it the way our footsteps trend? 
i question net the way your feet have trod; 
Our aims are one, and at the journey's end 
You'll meet your Allah, whom I call my God. 

And if Mohammed show the way for you 
Then I'll rejoice that He has lived and died; 
I'll learn from him — My friend, with vision 

true 
Come see my Light — the lowly Crucified. 

There is One Father, call Him what you will. 
We warp our souls with narrow, useless 

creeds; 
He but requires that we His way fulfill; 
That way is truth, in thought, in word, in 

deed. 



11 



g 3^aitl} 



iai OTHER Nature herself is my teacher; 

I hear the most wonderful things; 
At times when I sit in the silence 
I think i can hear angels' wings. 

I think of the life of the Master, 
As He taught on the hills and the sea, 
With the earth itself for His altar, 
And the sky for a blue canopy. 

His teachings were simple and tender; 
When He spoke of our Father above 
It seemed to those far away people 
Just a beautiful message of love. 

It's enough just to know that God loves me; 

I pray to be gentle and mild 

With a charity broad in its compass, 

And the simple, sweet faith of a child. 

When we get to the top of heav'ns mountain, 
And view^ the rough way we have trod, 
We shall meet there, so what does it matter, 
Which pathway we find to our God? 

12 



Jffragrattr^ 



41 HELD a rosebud in my hand today, 

Thinking how dear life was; how sweet 
and fair: 
A message came which swept my joy aw^ay, 
Crushed was the lovely rosebud lying there. 

But) ah ! The fragrance of that poor, crushed 

rose! 
Poor little flower that lay a wreck complete; 
Yet only thus its perfume could disclose — 
I did not dream it could be quite so sweet. 

I, toO) am crushed; it may be by God's hand. 
To make me give my fullest sweetness out. 
Father, I am broken. Lord, I cannot stand; 
That it is best for me I will not doubt. 

I am thy rose. Thou hast selected me 
To teach a lesson, and thy way fulfill. 
If only thus thy lesson learned may be, 
O, blessed Gardener, crush me if you v/ill! 



13 



(HtnhB 



(ElME-WORN and useless are the faiths of 

creed. 
What have they done? But view the world 

today; 
Men hating men, and lust and selfish greed 
Struggling in hearts where love should hold 

its sway. 

We've turned from God. He lets us have our 

way, 
And we have learned how hard that way has 

been, 
For just as sure as night must follow^ day 
We reap in pain w^hat we have sown in sin. 

I would look deep and learn the reason why. 
Would you learn with me? Well, here is my 

hand. 
We'll learn together, humbly, you and I — 
Ask God to show^ and make us understand. 

We will go back to simple things — to love; 
We will learn much but keep an even mind; 
We will seek wisdom from the realms above, 
Our only creed — Be true, be just, be kind. 



14 



Karma 



^O, Wise Astrologer, you've laid my future 

out! 
I must admit that you have wondrous skill; 
That much you say will come, I do not doubt, 
No matter what I do, or w^hat I will. 

I do believe that I have lived before. 
Perhaps in ages past, in foreign clime, 
And what I did in those dead days of yore 
Is on God's record, in His book of time. 

And I believe that record's in the stars. 
They show the karma which I must fulfill. 
All selfish actions, and all sin that mars, 
I must transmute; it is th'eternal will. 

Oh, yes. These stars point out what I must 

do 
To make my life a finely balanced whole, 
Astrologer, perhaps 'twas given to you 
To show and help the progress of my soul. 



15 



"Stjrr? 10 a ^iht in tlj? AffatrB 
of Mm" 

^ACH day there is a tide; the mighty moon 
Waxes and wanes, and guides the moving 
sea. 
Flood tides come often; one is coming soon, 
And it may bear you to your destiny. 

Too late? Ah, me! As long as you have 

breath. 
Work on! Your God has said that it should be. 
He sets no limits, and the gates of death 
Are but the entrance to eternity! 



16 



Eift Paafiittg 



31 LOWERS on the door. A soul has taken 

flight, 
Broken the fetters, freed from house of clay. 
Soul, may God speed you on to realms of 

light; 
Though we are lone wre would not bid you 

stay. 

No more we drape the door in hues of gloom. 
Why should we mock, if we believe and see 
That poor discarded body in the tomb 
Has served its purpose, and the soul is free? 

*Twas just a while, a little while ago, 

The soul was passing from the things of 

earth. 
We watched the struggle and were glad we 

knew 
*Twas but the passing to a higher birth. 

You are promoted, and we should be glad 
That you've gone on and reached the higher 

sphere; 
If there are heartaches, if we must be sad — 
'Tis for ourselves, that we must linger here. 



17 



Sttj^ Snail 



**^ WILL have naught of you," to Love I 

said. 
"Henceforth I swear that I will Love abjure." 
Love answered as he sadly shook his head, 
"I go, if thus your peace you may secure." 

Love is a twin, w^hose name is Joy and Pain; 
I found a peace, but, oh, the loneliness! 
"Come back, come back, I pray thee, Love, 

again. 
My life is blank, my days but emptiness. 

"I'll pay; I'll suffer pain if it must be. 
Only come back to me; but hear my call!" 
Love heard my voice and he returned to me, 
And now I know that Love is all-in-all. 



18 



UJg Pmikg^ 



£ gives me friendship. He must never know 
That I love him. I'll hide it, oh so deep 
Down in my heart where God alone may 

know; 
But, in the silent hours, I weep — I w^eep. 

Others may have his love, his tenderness; 
My heart w^iii tell me when his faith grows 

dim, 
And I shall ask my God to guide and bless. 
He will not know — but I shall pray for him. 



19 



Iht 5F?0t 



^QU have rejoiced with me when life wa» 
glad, 

And you have wept with me when life was 
sad. 

Could I ask more? You say I must not jest. 

Yes, there remains one thing to make a per- 
fect test. 

Should fortune leave you very far behind. 
But smile on me and give me of her best, 
Would you rejoice — or think fate was un- 
kind. 
And envy me? That is the test, my friend; 
thai is the test. 



20 



M^ irbt 



S AM your debtor always, friend of mine. 
You gave the richest gift a life can give; 
Something so great, so infinitely fine 
My debt grows greater with the years I live. 

My life was dark; there wais no gleam of light 

Until you came; but now with joy I see 

My God within — you cleared my clouded 

sight, 
You gave me hope, and then believed in me. 

I must be true, and worthy of that trust, 
if I should fail, your faith would fail you, too. 
I'll measure up, for friendship's sake I must, 
i shall repay the debt I owe to you. 



21 



QUfilJirrn ©0^0 

Jl PROMISED a doll to my dear baby girl. 

1 pictured a dolly most fair, 
With exquisite features, and teeth of pure 

pearl; 
Moving eyes, walking limbs — and real hair! 

We entered a shop, and the dear little niaid 
Clasped a cheap, tawdry doll to her breast. 
To make the exchange I was really afraid, 
Though I wanted to give her the best. 

I took it away, and the tears filled her eyes 

Till I gave her the one I had planned; 

Then the dear little face glowed in joyous 

surprise 
That a dolly existed "so grand!" 

Oh, baby! I, too, am a child in God's sight, 
I choose the Brst things that I see; 
I struggle to keep them, I do not know^, quite, 
Why my Father should take them from me. 

When I shall look back through the wisdom of 

years, 
When my faith is age-old and sublime, s 

Perhaps I shall see through a rainbow of tears 
That my Father planned best all the time. 



22 



3lu0t Alf^ain 



f^ ACK in the tender days of long ago 

I used to wander with my Father Dear, 
My hand in his; and, oh, he loved me so 
I feared no ill. There was no harm to fear. 

One day we wandered far, and lost our way; 
Well I remember what his dear voice said: 
"Child, I will find the path, and you must 

stay, 
I shall be just a little way ahead." 

I waited for him very patiently; 

I knew no fear, I was so confident 

He'd only gone to clear the way for me — 

He would return the very way he went. 

When he came back he found a tired child; 
He took me up and bore me on his breast; 
He spoke to me, his voice was soft and mild: 
"Dear little one, we're going home to rest." 



23 



Father, the years have borne you in their 

flight 
To God's own land. They say that you are 

"dead;" 
I know you're searching for the Path of 

Light. 
You've only gone a little way ahead. 

You'll come for me. Ah, very well I know. 
My feet are weary; heavy is my load. 
I'm waiting here; I know you love me so 
You'll come hack for me when you've found 
the Road. 



24 



irrtttttfi JS^aliji^b 



^ USED to day-dream all alone, 

And build my castles in the air. 
The years have passed, and I am grown, 
And still I'm building castles fair. 

Those childhood dreams were very sweet; 
I builded better than I knew. 
I smile at times. You see I meet 
These little day-dreams all come true. 

There is a difference now, you see; 
I used to hope, but now I know 
That every dream sent out from me. 
Comes back again. God makes it so. 



25 



OP, FATHER! We poor mortals often won- 
der 

Why you have veiled the future from our 
sight. 

We speculate, vre analyze, -we ponder. 

We grope and say: "Creator, send us light." 

Dear God, perhaps 'tis well that much is hid- 
den. 

If we could know That Land's exquisite bliss 

We would leave Earth and seek That Land 
unbidden. 

'Twould make our hearts dissatisfied with 
this. 

At times when some most precious one is 
leaving, 

God sees our grief and leaves the door ajar. 

He knows our hearts are purer in their griev- 
ing; 

We catch a glimpse of wondrous things afar. 

Then we go on, and for a little season 

Life is all changed; for higher things we 

yearn. 
"Why are we left?" we say. "God, show the 

reason." 
Here is the lesson that our hearts must learn: 

This is our learning place. It was intended 
By our Great Teacher, Who doth wisely rule. 
And when our course in earth-life shall be 

ended 
He will promote us to His higher school. 

26 



OU have finished your task and I thank 
yow, dear; 
Now, leave me alone with my Dead; 
I must commune with a presence here, 
That hovers over the flow^er-decked bier, 
Ere that presence from earth has sped. 

You look so placid, O, Dead most dear, 
As. I stand here by your side; 
But you do not respond to one burning tear. 
And you do not reply to the words you hear, 
Though part of me, too, has died. 

I look in your face, dear Dead of mine, 
And I fondle the lifeless clay. 
But a Magic Sculptor has changed its line, 
And an hour ago seems aeons of time, 
And thousands of miles away. 

Oh! What is this wonderful mystery? 
V/hat is this thing called Death? 
But an hour ago you spoke to me. 
Dear Dead of mine; but it cannot be 
That your love has gone with your breath. 

And then such a revelation came 
To the innermost soul of me! 
I saw no thing, and I heard no name; 
*Twas a holy hour, ah, you must not blame 
If I keep the mystery. 

27 



As our Saviour prayed in the long ago 
Ere He died on Calvary, 
The angels came, for He loved them so; 
But what they said Mre shall never know, 
In that sad Gethsemane. 

It is something hidden from mortal view, 
But perhaps in your hour of need 
This wonderful thing will come to you, 
And your innermost soul will feel it, too; 
And your heart will rejoice indeed. 

I stepped from the room and I closed the 

door. 
And I fell on my knees to pray. 
I can never doubt as I did before. 
And I'll never fear as in days of yore. 
For a Peace has come to stay. 

This much I can say from the lesson learned 

At the bier of one who died — 

Whatever way his feet were turned. 

No matter how much his heart has yearned, 

He w^as fully satisfied. 



28 



3In childhood days, when winter evenings 

came, 
We used to watch the embers burning low, 
And tell "ghost stories" — and the very name 
Would chill my blood. I used to fear them 

so. 

I didn't think there really were such things. 

And if there were, they had no right to be. 

I thought they prowled around, and shook 
their wings 

To scare bad folks; and good ones, too, may- 
be! 

When ! walked out at night, I'd look around; 
My heart would beat so fast, and seem to say 
"Scared cat! Just see those shadows on the 

ground ! 
They'll turn to ghosts before you get away!" 

Poor little child! I've left you far behind, 
Back on the street of Long-and-Long Ago; 
You did not think your fearfulness unkind, 
God will not blame, because you did not 
know. 



29 



Long is the road my weary feet have turned, 
But on my journey God has wisdom sent; 
My eyes are clear. This have I lived to learn: 
Ghosts are most real, but, oh, so different. 

Ghosts are our friends gone to the higher 

school. 
And they would teach of hope, and faith, and 

love; 
Of lovely lands where God alone doth rule, 
They link our lives to other worlds above. 



30 



JfatrQlanJi 



^N childhood's days I lived in fairyland. 
My friend, I wonder if you've lived there, 
too? 
For if you did, then you will understand 
The ecstasy, the wondrous joy I knew^. 

And then the grief when disillusion came. 
Life changed; I saw its weariness, its flaws. 
For many years it never seemed the same; 
Gone were the fairies, and my Santa Claus. 

I lost my faith in many other things. 
Dark was the way, and rough the path I trod; 
My faith had vanished w^ith the fairies' wings. 
At times I lost, at times I groped for God. 

and then there came a glorious thing to me; 
God rent the veil and cleared my darkened 

sight. 
He said, "The day has come for you to see." 
I heard, I looked, and I beheld the light. 



31 



I learned that lovely being hovers near, 
But we, ourselves, obstruct the spirit's view; 
At times we see their forms, their voices hear, 
My childhood's fairyland is grandly true. 

I live again. Now that I see and know, 
My path is joy, my broken spirit healed; 
i thank my God, whose love has made it so. 
Joy, joy eternal, has His love revealed. 



<2 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




015 799 445 1 • 




4328 Alabama Street 
San Diego, California 



